Occasional Paper Series

Panel discussion: #23 - Teacher Leaders: Transforming Schools from the Inside

Click here to read Gil Schmerler's introduction, and Mhatre & Stacy's chapter.

Event: Teacher Leaders: Transforming Schools from the Inside
Place: Bank Street College, 610 West 112th Street, NY, Auditorium
Date: November 16, 2009
Time: 5:30 - 7:00pm

Participants:

Introduction:

Eric Nadelstern
Chief Schools Officer, NYCDOE

Moderator:

Gil Schmerler
Bank Street College

Panelists:

Nayantara Mhatre, Bank Street School for Children; Jill Stacy, Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning, Denver; Kami Patrizio, Towson University; Jessica Endlich Winkler, Frederick Douglass Academy VII, Brooklyn; Jennifer Groves, Telluride, Colorado; Kathleen Dickinson Rockwood, Manhattanville College; Clara E. Lin, East Village Community School; Lillian Hernandez, NY, NY; Cristian Solorza, Bank Street College; and Robin E. Hummel, Bank Street College

A panel of the book's authors will grapple with some of the challenges and opportunities teacher leaders face. For example:

Why is teacher leadership particularly critical at this time? (Why isn't strong principal leadership good enough?) Are there districts and schools where teacher leadership is formally recognized and rewarded?
How do teacher leaders make themselves heard? What are the qualities needed for effective teacher leadership? What are the most effective techniques?
What are the special challenges for which teacher leaders need to be prepared?
Why would someone want to be a teacher leader?

The discussion will be introduced by Eric Nadelstern, currently chief schools officer of the NYC DOE, formerly head of the Empowerment Zone and principal of International HS, and a long-time advocate and fighter for teacher leadership in schools.

Gil Schmerler, director of the Leadership for Educational Change program at Bank Street, who has studied, written, and taught about teacher leadership, will moderate the discussion.